Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly issued a stern warning Tuesday that his country will withdraw from a nuclear arms deal, threatening to resume nuclear testing.
Putin delivered his address over a year after the invasion of Ukraine began, blaming the elites of the West of inflaming international tensions.
The Russian president then announced that Moscow will withdraw from the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, a bilateral deal signed by former Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev.
President Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Mariinsky Palace on Monday to announce an additional $500 million in US support.
The United States has already provided tens of billions of dollars in financial aid and military equipment to Ukraine.
The additional help comprises howitzer rounds, anti-tank missiles, air surveillance radars, and other items, but no new modern equipment, at least not officially.
In his Tuesday address, Putin said that the West was seeking to accomplish a “strategic defeat” over Russia and seize control of their nuclear capabilities.
Both the United States and Russia are capable of deploying significantly more nuclear warheads than the permitted number, since Washington and Moscow have a combined total of more than 13,000 warheads, accounting for about 90% of the world’s nuclear arsenal.
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